Realization With Time
by StrawberryAura
Summary: UPDATE: READ AUTHOR'S NOTE New emotions start to churn inside the captain, and they're for his navigator! How does she feel? What is Franky's invention and what role does it play? Rated T for curses and suggestiveness.
1. Worry

Hello everybody~!! This is my first fanfic so please review and tell me how I can improve! The first two chapters are in a third person point of view, but in the third one it changes, sorry for the confusion. I also fixed them up so they look better, so re-read if ya like!

Pairings: LuffyxNami UsoppxKaya (hinted later on)  
****SPOILERS FOR PEOPLE THAT DON'T KNOW BROOK EXCISTS!! Everyone is together again! YAY!****

**

* * *

**

The usual scene was playing aboard the Thousand Sunny this afternoon. Usopp was impressing Chopper with a marvelously fake tale _(not that the gullible little guy knew)_ about how he single handedly defeated an evil emperor in the East Blue at the age of five and freed the empire from his tyranny. Robin could be seen sunbathing and reading a thick book about lost civilizations and reaching out to the delicious looking drink Sanji was placing beside her while he complimented her intelligence. Brook was practicing his violin and Franky was working on something absurd that he was keeping a secret from everybody in his workplace for the past week. Zoro's loud snores could be heard from the watch tower. The captain was sitting on the deck watching Nami.

For some reason he couldn't stop observing her as she gazed at the sunset.  
_  
'Wow, she looks really pretty…wait! Did I just say that?! Well she is but…' _Luffy thought hesitantly as he continued to watch her.

Her tangerine colored hair gleamed in the soft rays of the sun. She glanced in his direction and smiled. Flustered, Luffy quickly looked down. Suddenly he felt nauseous, but it felt _good_? Confused by the feeling he shook his head and went over to Franky.

"Whatcha doin' Franky?"

The said person looked up with grease smeared on random places of his face,

"I'm working on something so amazing it might make me the world's most famous pirate shipwright!"

Luffy blinked once that let out a huge smile, "That's so cool!!" the excited teen replied "….What is it?" Luffy asked a moment later with a dead panned face.

"I can't tell you, but all I can say is it's gonna be SUPER~!!"

Luffy pouted like child and murmured disappointedly as he walked away, "Keeping secrets isn't fair ya know?"

"I'm sorry captain, but I' m almost done so just wait a bit longer!!" Franky shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice since the other was already far away.

Sanji came out of the kitchen yelling,"Come get your dinner you fucking shitheads!"

His tone changed and he went into his love-love state "Of course, the _ladies_ get to come in first~!"

Everybody went to the kitchen to get some food happily, except for Zoro who yawned and mumbled sleepily that he would kill a certain ero-cook for disturbing his nap, along with complaining about how hungry he was.

Of course, dinner wasn't peaceful with all the ruckus. The headache inducing noises included the clanging of plates, screams of an enraged chef, whining of hungry pirates, and laughter coming from their glutinous captain, along with the painful sound of a boot to the face. Obviously it was ineffective to the rubber boy as he stretched out and reached for more food. Surprisingly, he stopped right before grabbing the food, not because of another powerful kick that just hit his ribs, but because of who the food belonged to. The strange event caused the room to fall silent. Luffy saw the confused look on Nami's face as she looked to him, then his arm, and then back to him. He stretched his arm back and looked around. Some of the crew's jaws had hit the table in shock.

"Oi, why's everybody so quiet?" He asked staring at them as they stared back.

"Because you just decided not to take Nami's _food_." said the green haired swordsman as he leaned back on his chair.

"Yeah, so…?" Luffy responded.

This time Usopp spoke, "Well, it's just that you usually don't care whose food your taking."

"Well I don't, but I thought that I should let Nami have the food since she's gotten thinner, plus I don't want Sanji to beat me up for taking hers!"

'_Again…' _Luffy thought, _'Again when I looked at her I got that feeling!'_

Most of the crew laughed at the end of the response and continued shielding and trying to eat what was left of their food as Sanji went back to the kitchen to get more. But one member continued to stare into space as she thought,

_'How did he know I lost weight?'_

Blinking, she looked down to her food, then her stomach.

'_Does he really care so much to notice?'_

**_**Scene Change**_**

Nami lay on her bed, contemplating over what she asked herself during dinner.

'_Well, I'm sure he cares. If he didn't he would've just left my village under Arlong's control!'_

Her eyebrow's lowered and she frowned _'But he would even save the enemy if they were in trouble!!' _

The statement she just thought of saddened her slightly.

'_That's right; I was no one special…Wait! Why do I care now?! I've been on this crew so long and every time we're in trouble Luffy gives it his all to protect us, and I just _questioned _if he cared or not?!!'_

Now angry at herself she turned to her side and saw Robin almost done with the book she started this morning.

The raven haired women looked up from her book and asked "Can I help you navigator-san? You have been looking at me for a while now."

"Oh!" Nami exclaimed in shock, "I zoned out a bit." A sad expression came over her face after she spoke and her eyes looked down to the floor.

"Is something worrying you? Why have you lost weight?"

Nami stared up at her with wide eyes and replied, "Well, it's been bothering me for a while now…" her voice trailed off, then she started again hesitantly, "w-wh-WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO US IN THE FUTURE?!"

Robin's eyes enlarged slightly at the outburst, but returned to normal as she continued to listen.

"Every fight is getting harder and harder, plus the World Government is fighting back more furiously than ever before! I'm getting really worried! Whenever we get into a battle, new enemies just keep coming, and they are stronger than the last ones. At the end there are more casualties! If this keeps going on I wonder if we can actually make it to the last island!!"

Nami stopped for a second, panting a little.

"I-I don't want to lose anyone. These people are the first to ever trust me enough to come back and fight for me after I betrayed them! No person I have ever met has cared enough to help me and my village. Most pirates thought I was a traitor and only followed me to attempt to kill me! Luffy and the others set me free and gave me a purpose and a chance to fulfill my dream. I owe them forever! _Hic! *sniff*_"

The emotional rant that she bottled inside herself for months brought her to tears. Now sitting up in her bed, she wiped them away her sleeve and looked over to Robin who had been sitting quietly hearing what she had to say.

"I'm really sorry Robin. This was probably uncalled for but I couldn't keep it inside anymore! I care a lot for Luffy,for everyone! Not that they would realize just how much." A small smirk came onto her lips.

"Ee, captain-san has a special place in all of hearts!" Robin replied happily.

"It's quite late, no?" she added on, looking at the clock which said 2:45 AM,"let us carry on our conversation after I get some more coffee and refreshments! Would you like anything?"

"Oh, that sounds great, thanks! Could you get me an orange or two from my mini orchard? I haven't eaten them in a while and their really ripe! Actually let's share!"

"That would be wonderful." With that she left the room and headed towards the kitchen.

Nami took a hold her pillow and sat Indian-style with her blanket on her legs.

Squishing the pillow into a hug she thought, _'Why did I burst out like that in front of Robin? I worried her for no reason! I really shouldn't have, but Robin already noticed that there was something wrong. She is really good at analyzing things; even Luffy saw that I was skinnier.'_

A couple of minutes later Robin returned with what seemed like a buffet of snacks balanced gracefully on her extra arms, along with a small gathering of tangerines , while her two original hands held the coffee cups.

"Wow Robin! You sure got a lot of food for a '_midnight snack_'!" Nami said, amused.

"Ee, why not have a little party?" Robin suggested.

Nami perked up at this, "Yeah! Hmm…." She continued after thinking for a second, "Could you tell me stuff about your past? I'll tell you mine."

"O-okay." Robin replied stuttering.

Nami noticed this and said,"Stop if it gets too painful, alright?"

Robin nodded and began.

"I never knew who my father was and my mother left me to follow his dream of finding the True History when I was two years of age. I was left under the care of my aunt Roji, but she wasn't really caring of me, she made me do the housework and abused me. I was also shunned away and bullied by children because of my Devil Fruit ability and I became their scapegoat as they blamed things on me that were unfortunate."

Robin's eyes became distant but she resumed,"My only sanctuary was the Tree of Knowledge where many scholars studied as it contained a vast amount of written information. "

"Is that why you love books so much, Robin?" Nami asked.

"I believe it is because books could take me away into a less painful world."She replied before continuing.

"At eight I aced the archeology exam and was pronounced a scholar. Shortly after I pronounced that I wanted to follow in my mother's footsteps and search for the unrecorded history. The scholars said if I continued this 'foolishness' then I would be banned from the Tree of Knowledge. I ran away from there crying and found a giant that had washed up ashore. I befriended him and gave him food while he built a raft to escape. After he learned that he had washed up on an island called Ohara, he said that marine battleships were coming to destroy it. In a turn of events I met my mother, but then the Buster Call happened and…all was lost."

Wiping a tear that had escaped she took a sip from her coffee and swallowed a piece of biscuit before she went on.

" Obviously, I escaped but the government had placed a bounty on my head. I couldn't trust anyone and no one trusted me. I grew up alone, working for random organizations who wanted things that were quite inhumane done to others by me in exchange for food and a place to live. This went on for twenty years till our captain defeated Crocodile."

"I see." replied Nami. She was at a loss of words. Who knew something so tragic could've happened to the woman in front of her?

In attempt to change the mood she said, "The World Government sucks! Their all a bunch of lousy cowards that work behind one another!! It felt so nice when we kicked their asses at Enies Lobby!" Then she took a large gulp out of her coffee and chewed on the raspberry jam biscuit in her hand.

"Ee!" Robin responded, gracefully putting her hand over her lips as she giggled.

"As a side story, would you like to know how I got my giant sea turtle?"

"Huh...? Oh wait! I remember now! The one you got off the ship with before you joined us?" Nami exclaimed after recalling the memory.

"Ee. I had just escaped a man who was about to shoot me and I was running towards the port to see if I could find a ship to board. There I saw an old lady selling the gigantic turtle! It was quite a bizarre scene."

Robin giggled and went on,"I went over and gave her all the beri I was given from my last assassination and quickly jumped on the turtle and told it to swim fast towards the sister island. The old lady didn't stop thanking me from behind as I fled the island!!" She smiled and went to grab a croissant.

"I see you have a tattoo there, navigator-san. What does it symbolize?" Robin asked curiously.

"Before this, the tattoo was Arlong's symbol and when I got it removed after we were freed it scarred my skin. The new one that covers it up represents a windmill and a tangerine." Nami replied.

"Oh, speaking of tangerines, let's eat the ones you got!" Nami stated happily.

"Sure." Robin responded and reached for one.

Their little party continued to about four in the morning, but they didn't notice someone had heard their conversations.

* * *

Okay everyone, what do you think!? Any guesses on who heard? I think Robin got a little OOC with all the talking and emotions, along with Nami. Oh, the story is made up about how she got the sea turtle, but she did get off the ship on one, at least in the anime as far as I can remember.


	2. Misunderstanding

Hope you guys like chapter two!

Pairings: LuffyxNami UsoppxKaya

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. And I never will.  
**SPOILERS ABOUT LUFFY'S FAMILY

* * *

**

_Luffy sleepily opened his eyes and stated,"Damn…hungry…" _

_Getting off his back he jumped down and landed on the floor of the Men's Quarters making his way to the door. While heading towards the kitchen he passed Nami and Robin's room and heard people talking inside._

"_-worrying you? Why have you lost weight?"_

'_Hmm, sounds like Robin. I think I'll listen; I wanna know why Nami lost weight too. I wonder what's troubling her.'_

"_Well, it's been bothering me for a while now…" her voice trailed off, then she started again hesitantly, "w-wh-WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO US IN THE FUTURE?! "_

_Luffy's eyes widened as he continued to listen, feeling something weighing down his heart._

'_She's…crying…'_

_Luffy walked away, feeling a bit numb, when the topic changed; ending up back in bed with no food._

_**Current Time**_

The time now was 4:30 AM and all of our favorite pirates were sleeping- except one- to be more precise, it was the captain. Luffy couldn't stop tossing and turning in his hammock. His brain kept filling up with various thoughts that made him unable to fall asleep.

'_I can't believe that I didn't keep my promise with the windmill guy…Nami was crying! I was supposed to keep her smiling but it's my safety along with the others she's worried about! It must be because I'm not strong enough! Damn it!! What kind of captain am I?! I just let her lose weight with all her worrying instead of reassuring her; instead of finding out the reason I kept on shoving food in my mouth and never brought it up again! Damn…I'm the worst…I gotta protect her better.' _

Realizing it must be late now Luffy decided he should seriously get to sleep or the others will be suspicious in the morning.

'_I'll never let you cry again….Nami…'_

He turned on to his left side and closed his eyes, slowly falling into dreamland.

_**Breakfast Time**_

"OI LUFFY! GET YOUR ASS INTO THE DAMN KITCHEN IF YOU WANT ANY FOOD!!"

His eyes slowly opened only to be stung by rays of sunlight. Sitting up in his hammock, he looked around and noticed none of the guys were there. Then the most heavenly and delicious aromas filled his nostrils making his stomach grumble loudly.

"Ah… I'M HUNGRY! FOOD!!"

Within seconds Luffy had made it into the kitchen after slamming open the door, scaring his crewmates as they jumped slightly. In the blink of an eye he stole Usopp's raspberry cream cheese muffin along with Zoro's banana-cinnamon waffles and Chopper's French toast.

Usopp and Chopper's mouth's stayed in an 'O' shape, the type you have when you're about to take a bite out of food.

"_Lu-ffy~!" _They both whined, looking at him with small pouts of sadness.

"Geez, first you don't wake up and then you barge in like maniac and swallow my breakfast." Zoro said, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded.

"Shishishi, well I'm here now and that happens every day!" Luffy responded, laughing as he stretched over and sat in his chair.

"I kind of liked having a normal breakfast that can't be compared to survival of the fittest on a battlefield." Franky sighed and got ready to shield his food.

Everyone continued their eating that had halted at the sudden appearance of the captain. While gorging on all the food around him, Luffy unconsciously looked over at Nami. She was smiling and having a conversation with Robin. Looking at her being happy compared to last night made him unknowingly smile between the four pieces of omelet in his mouth.

'_Good, it's not a fake one.' _

"Would anyone care to hear a piece I have recently composed?" Brook asked with crumbs stuck to his face.

Approvals like "Sure." "Yeah!" "That would be super!!" "Let's hear it." and others were heard around the room.

"Then I shall begin." Brook stated, picking up his violin that rested on the floor, he rose and moved to the center of the room; positioning himself at a resting position.

Clattering sounds of silverware on plates ceased, even Luffy stopped eating and listened as it began.

What did it sound like? There are barely enough words to express it. The piece started out melodically; slow and calm, having the reminiscence of sunrise on a spring day. When through the gentle light you can see beautiful golden mist rising and twirling all around and hear a few birds chirping in the distance. Then, just like how things start to move about and awaken, the tempo increased steadily. Its dynamics were spaced out perfectly as Brook went from a high pitch, to a low, from there to a medium and repeated this three times, resembling the day progressing. At one point, this part sounded like a cheerful montage. As he continued it started to sound sad. Slowly he moved the bow across the strings creating an almost painful and distressing string of notes that would truly touch your heart. When the song was starting to sound a bit plain with notes of the same area of pitch, the rhythm again steadily sped up and the composition ended with a high, low, and a quick high to low note variation.

Across the dining table were faces of pure astonishment; with some eyes bulging, others twinkling with awe, and a few tears running down the cheeks of people that were sensitive.

"That was beautiful, Brook-san." Robin commented with a little smile on her lips.

"Yeah! That was so SUPER~!!" Franky stated, wiping of his tears.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Oh, my ears are turning red in embarrassment, even though I don't have any! YOHOHOHO!!"

Luffy stared at Brook for a bit and then asked, "What did you name it?"

Brook stayed quiet for a second and then replied, "A Pirate's Life at Sea."

"Ah." Luffy stated. Then a grin came on his face, "I know why!"

"Huh? I don't get it. What's the reason for the name, Luffy?" Usopp asked a bit confused.

Nami replied for him, "You sail out to sea on your ship; your pirate flag waving in the wind, symbolizing new life and sunrise. The day's move on and you find nakama that join you. All together, you guys have lots of fun. You encounter in a few fights with marines, but make it through after beating them. Some horrible situation like almost losing one of your crew happens, but they live or die. Life moves on and then before your own death you go out with a 'DON'! The sun goes down. That's a pirate's life."

"Exactly." Brook and Luffy stated in unison.

"Wah~!! Nami –swan is so smart!~" Sanji twirled around her, hearts in his eyes.

"How did you write this, Brook?" Zoro asked.

"Well, I read through Nami-san's log of all the things that happened to you guys and remembered my crew and Gold Roger's legacy. There are many things that can inspire a person."

"Oh! Oh! Brook! Play 'Bink's Sake'!" Chopper requested eagerly, leaning over the table.

Breakfast ended happily while listening to the song and now it was midday. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were fishing and Nami and Robin were sunbathing. But there was a problem.

"Oi Luffy! Can't you fish somewhere else?! You guys are blocking the sun!" Nami shouted angrily.

The three looked over and Luffy responded whining, "I wanna fish here!"

'_I gotta protect you…'_

"Sorry Nami, its captain's orders." Chopper added; an apologetic look on his face.

"Hmph!" Nami looked away, irritated. Luffy noticed this and said,

"Actually, I'm bored with fishing; you guys can go on the other side." Then he leaned over to them with a hand over his mouth and whispered, "If we stay any longer she's gonna pound us…"

Nami looked at him skeptically as Chopper and Usopp walked over to the other side. While heading towards the figurehead Luffy looked back at Nami. Their eyes met and Luffy got a confused look on his face, making Nami have one too. He examined her for a second, her hair was up in a ponytail, today's newspaper in her hands, and she was wearing a green bikini. Quickly he turned away, hair and shadow covering his eyes, leaving Nami with an even more confused look on her face.

Now sitting on Thousand Sunny's head Luffy clenched onto his shirt in a tight fist,_ "Is Nami really the one making me sick? Should I not talk to her? No, that's impossible; we're on the same ship."_

"OW~! I won again!!" shouted Franky in victory. He, Brook, Usopp, and Chopper were playing with a deck of cards on the grassy deck of the port side.

"Aw, how do you keep winning?" Chopper asked sadly, looking down onto his own cards.

"I feel super lucky this week!" Franky replied.

"AH! You must've cheated!" Usopp said as he accusingly pointed a finger at Franky.

"Actually Usopp-san is the one that cheated. I saw it with my own eyes, even though I don't have any! YOHOHOHO!!"

Robin got off her chair and stood up saying, "I'm going to go put on some warmer clothes Navigator-san. It's getting colder, isn't it?"

Nami looked up and answered, "Yeah, I noticed the temperature dropping. We're approaching a winter island."

When Robin had walked away Luffy came over.

"Can I sit here?" He asked looking down at the seat, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Umm….sure…?" Nami replied weirdly.

'_Luffy usually does everything he wants without asking, wonder what's wrong with him.'_

"So how long is it till we reach the next island?" Luffy asked fidgeting with his straw hat, still attempting to avoid eye contact.

"I'm guessing in about a day… LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Nami shouted after noticing she was talking to the back of his head.

"Eh? Oh, sorry Nami." Luffy looked back at her, putting on a plain face.

"Why are you acting all weird?"

'_I can't tell her she's might be making me sick! I gotta change the subject.'_

"Hey Nami, have you ever sat on the figurehead?"

"No, why?" Nami replied a bit scared.

'_Crap, I know where this is going!'_

"Then come on!" Luffy grabbed her hand and stretched the other one towards the giant lion head.

Nami let out an involuntary "EEP!" when she got pulled along.

"Luffy…you IDIOT!" She yelled before thumping him on the head with her fist.

"Ow!" Luffy said while rubbing the back of his head. Then they both sat down on top of the Thousand Sunny's figurehead.

Nami spotted a bump growing where she hit him.

"How come when Zoro or Sanji hit you, your skin doesn't bruise or swell?"

"Hmm, I really don't know. But the only people that affect me are you and grandpa. He calls it the 'Fist of Love' or something like that and says that only love can get through to a person, even if you hearts rubber. That stupid fist of his was really painful to grow up with and his way of making me into a strong man was to throw me into a jungle or something. He's about the only person I'm scared of in the Marines. The guy's crazy! Shishishi, the future Pirate King being afraid of his own _grandpa_!"

Little did Luffy know that he had lost Nami's attention a few seconds ago, or maybe _caught_ it?

'_Love…?'_

"Nami…Nami? Hello~ anybody there?" Luffy asked waving his hand in front her face.

"Ah! Your face is all red and sweaty. Do you have a fever?"

Nami responded with a "Huh? No, I don-"

But before she could finish he intervened, "Don't tell me you got bit by another bug?! CRAP! Let me see your stomach!"

Luffy leaned uncomfortably close to her. At the same time Sanji came out of the kitchen saying, "Nami-swan would you like a refreshing dri-"

"No Luffy!!" Nami said, pushing him away.

Luffy lifted his head up to look at Nami with an 'Oh, okay' expression but a black blur came by and he was kicked into the ocean.

Nami's eyes widened and she screamed, "LUFFY!!"

"Ah, Nami-swan wait a second! I'll get-" But it was too late and she had jumped after him into the sea.

Both were now submerged underwater

Zoro who had been sleeping woke up when he heard the splash and the rest of the gang who were playing cards came over.

"I heard a splash, what's going on? Where's Luffy and Robin?" Zoro asked Sanji worriedly.

Chopper answered, "Robin went inside but I don't know about Luffy."

"What the hell's going on dart-brow?!"

Sanji didn't respond, instead he walked over to the railing.

'_Nami-san…'_

A minute later the sound of hacking could be heard as the two came up the ship's side. Nami supported Luffy with her arm and guided him to sit down.

"Are…you…okay…?" she asked between breaths.

Coughing up a bit more water he replied,"…Yeah I'm fine."

"You shitty bastard!! What the hell were you doing to Nami-swan?!"

Hearing this, Nami got up with her hair shadowing over her eyes and her hands and teeth clenched tightly together. She hastily walked up to him and just stood there for a moment, her body shaking slightly. Then she slowly lifted her head up, revealing her eyes full of unfathomable rage. In a split second her arm was raised and then she forcefully brought her palm to his face,

_**SLAP!**_

Sanji was dumbfounded. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung slightly in shock. One of his hands was progressing towards his throbbing cheek.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! WHY'D YOU KICK HIM OFF THE SHIP?! "

"I thought he was….t-taking advantage of you…"

Nami's eyes grew even angrier, and then she simply blew up.

"YOU REALLY THINK LUFFY WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! IS THAT HOW WELL YOU KNOW YOUR OWN CAPTAIN?! HE'S A FUCKING DEVIL FRUIT USER!! WHAT YOU DID JUST NOW COULD'VE KILLED HIM!! YOU ALMOST KILLED THE MAN WHO SAVED OUR ASSES HUNDREDS OF TIMES!! !"

She stopped her screaming for a second, her head lowered and then tried to start again.

"W-what if he died?"

Her voice was cracking. Nami felt a lump form in her throat and her eyes were burning. That's right; if she hadn't reached him in time she could've lost him _forever_. She felt a hand on her shoulder, immediately turning around to see who it was. Luffy was no longer resting against the railing; instead he was the one behind her.

"Nami…no more." He spoke tenderly, noticing tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

Then grabbed her into a small and gentle hug; stroking her head lightly until she stopped trembling from the now escaping droplets. After comforting her he walked up to Sanji.

Sanji realized what a horrible the thing he had done.

'_Damn, I'm so ashamed! How could I have thought he was doing that? Luffy isn't that type of person. My assumption that he was mistreating Nami-san almost got him killed! '_

"I'm sorry, Luffy." Sanji said, almost whispering.

After saying this he got on his hands and knees; his forehead touching the deck, "PLEASE FORGIVE ME, CAPTAIN!"

Saying that this scene was 'shocking' was an understatement. The whole crew watched on completely stunned by the cook's actions.

Even when sixty suspenseful seconds had gone by, Sanji was still reluctant on raising his head; patiently waiting for Luffy's answer.

"Sanji, get up." Luffy stated demandingly.

Once the incredibly rueful blond rose to his feet, Luffy leaned over and silently whispered something in his ear. The captain kept his tone very low so it was only audible to the two of them.

"I'm gonna forgive you Sanji, I don't believe in holding grudges." Sanji mentally let out a sigh of relief, however Luffy hadn't finished yet.

"But if you ever make Nami sad again, I'll kick your ass." Luffy informed him sharply, his voice dripping with killer intent.

The cook swallowed dryly. The line he had just heard made his knees buckle and perspiration run down the back of his neck. Sanji's eyes widened in fear because he knew the other was dead serious. It was already in his knowledge that his captain had fought and won against some of the strongest in the world, there was no way he could win against the man's willingness to live.

Chopper came running towards the little crowd, "Nami! Luffy! Here are some towels." The young doctor proceeded to dry them off in his human form.

"I think you should get some thicker clothes on, Nami. It's starting to get really cold!" Usopp exclaimed, rubbing his arms for warmth.

"A…ah, I should." Nami got up with the towel wrapped around her and headed towards the Women's Quarters.

She walked in and saw Robin now fully clothed and reading a book on one of the arm chairs.

Robin looked up at Nami with worry as she made it towards the closet, picking out some dry clothes. The older women had heard screaming right before coming outside and chose to see what happened outside the room with her powers. Robin decided not to bring it up unless Nami herself wanted to talk. Nami sat down on her bed with her arms wrapped around her knees, resting her body against the headboard. Tilting her head up and closing her eyes, she remembering the scene that played on the deck a couple of minutes ago.

'_The atmosphere will be awkward during dinner.'_

All of a sudden she remembered that there was only a semi-wet towel and soaking bikini covering her, also her hair was dripping seawater on the bed. The clothes that had been picked earlier were resting on her lap. She got up off her bed and gathered a few things and went in the direction of the bathroom. Locking the door, she undressed and turned on the water. When it was warm enough she stepped in, her muscles immediately relaxing. Sinking under the water, her thoughts began to flow.

'_So we're almost near the next winter island, I bet Chopper will be happy. He almost died of heatstroke on that summer one last time. I should buy some new clothes, maybe some for the guys and Robin. Nah, that'll waste my money. We have to stock up on supplies, the food's almost gone. Well actually there's enough food to last a normal crew another two weeks, but ours is far from normal. Wonder how Sanji cooks all that food and washes the mound of dishes daily.'_

The thought of Sanji led onto another train of thought.

'_Should I apologize to him? I think I should but there was a reason I slapped him.'_

Her lungs pained from the lack of oxygen so she brought her head out of the water and breathed in the humid air in large gasps. Then she proceeded to wash her hair, lathering it up with cleansing products. A worried look appeared her face as she thought of how to apologize. She wasn't really experienced in this field. Rinsing the foam out of her locks, she reached for the bar of soap and rubbed it against her skin; creating bubbles in the process.

'_Maybe I should buy him a present? Or should I just say 'I'm sorry' and end the whole thing?'_

While having a debate in her head, she washed off the coat of suds and grabbed the towel. She put on a deep wine red colored long sleeve top and a pair of white capris as soon as she had dried off. Leaving the bathroom, she went to her and Robin's room to fix her damp hair. The raven haired women looked up from her book and smiled as she walked in and headed for the dresser.

While brushing her hair she asked, "Has…Sanji asked to come for dinner yet?"

"He will do so any second now."

"NAMI-SWAN, ROBIN-CHWUAN PLEASE COME AND GET YOUR DINNER, MY SWEETS!! THE REST OF YOU SHITHEADS CAN COME TOO!"

"Well, seems like I don't have to wait!" Nami said giggling.

She gave her now two ponytails a last tug and went out the door, but immediately came back in.

"COLD!!" she yelled, running over to the closet and grabbing herself and Robin a sweater.

Robin on the other hand was still placing a bookmark to indicate where she was leaving off. Walking towards Nami, she politely took and put on the sweater, following right behind her as they left the room. By the time they walked in the kitchen, it was already bursting with energy. Luffy was, of course, robbing his fellow crewmate's food. Nami noticed that the cook wasn't yelling at him as much as he normally would.

'_He probably still feels guilty.'_

Before the hungry pirates had walked in at hearing his call for dinner, the chef was extremely tense.

He was pacing back and forth with a panicked expression, '_What if he actually still holds it against me? I don't want that! Or what if he wants me out of the crew because he can't trust me anymore?'_

Then Luffy blasted in, almost blowing the door of its hinges as usual.

"SANJI!!FOOD!!" the hyper-active teen yelled, jumping into a seat.

Sanji couldn't help but smile. He was now reassured that his captain had truly forgiven him.

After another hectic dinner was over everyone except Nami and Sanji had left to do other things, of course Sanji normally stayed in the kitchen anyways to wash the dishes. From the corner of his eye, he noticed his beloved Nami-san zoning out with an unsure look on her face.

"Nami-san, is there something wrong?"

His voice shocked her out of the trance and she responded with a "Huh?"

"I asked if there is anything wrong." Sanji repeated.

"…Not really but I want to-"

"Forgive me for being rude, Nami-san, but if this is an apology I do not want to hear it."

Rising from her chair, she made her way next to him.

"You'll have to hear this free line or make me spend my money on a present for you, which you'll have to repay me back for with 300% interest." Nami stated blankly. Then quickly added on the next line before Sanji could speak again, "I'm really sorry for what I did!"

"Like I said, my goddess, I am not worthy of an apology from you and I deserved it." Sanji responded with a smile.

"If that's how you really feel then I'll see ya later." Nami left the kitchen with a grin on her face. One because a weight was lifted off her and two, she didn't have to spend any money!

Out on the deck, she checked to see if they were heading in the right direction. Indeed, they were. Free of any more worries, Nami went to her and Robin's room for a nice long sleep.

* * *

I'm extremely sorry for the late update! This took longer to write than the last chapter because I now realize, writing fanfiction takes A LOT of reference. Again, please forgive me for the delay. Please feel free to point out mistakes and ways I can improve in your reviews!


	3. Positions

Sorry for the _really_ late update! How long has it been?! LIKE TWO MONTHS!! *cries*

Here's chapter three! I needed time to plan out the next couple of chapters and I'm losing hope for the story (-_-) plus there's too much shit going on with life, but that's it for excuses!

Oh, a little bit of shounen-ai is in this chapter, but just for kicks! You'll realize what I'm talking about, so don't freak; it's only implied, not cannon in this fic. It got hard to write in a third person point of view, so I changed that. I don't think there's any spoiling material.

Pairings: LuffyxNami UsoppxKaya ZoroxSanji (_ won't be here next time...unless I feel evil.)_  
Inspiration: Another fanfic (for the ZoSan part), snow that's falling outside.  
Disclaimer: You have to be an idiot to think a 13 year old could have made One Piece if it recently had its 10 year anniversary.

_**RECAP:  
**__"Like I said, my goddess, I am not worthy of an apology from you and I deserved it." Sanji responded with a smile._

"_If that's how you really feel then I'll see ya later." Nami left the kitchen with a grin on her face. One because a weight was lifted off her and two, she didn't have to spend any money!_

_Out on the deck, she checked to see if they were heading in the right direction. Indeed, they were. Free of any more worries, Nami went to her and Robin's room for a nice long sleep._

_

* * *

_

**..:: Normal POV ::..**

Nami's eyes steadily opened to the light of the morning. Groggily pushing away the covers, she moved her legs so they hung over the side of the bed. Looking to her left, she saw Robin at her desk reading a book. The woman looked up from the text and greeted her.

"Ohayo, Navigator-san; have a nice sleep?"

"Ohayo, Robin. Yeah, how long was that?" Then she turned around to see the time, "Thirteen hours?!"

"Ee."

'_Huh, it's really quiet today.' _Nami thought, realizing the usual yelling wasn't going on.

After getting up and stretching until her back cracked, she made her way to the closet. Stripping off her pajamas, she put on some warm clothing. Then after brushing her hair, she went to the sink to wash her face.

Suddenly a loud scream almost gave her a heart attack.

"IT'S SNOWING!!"

Hurrying to the door, she opened it and cold wind and snowflakes blew into the room. Robin walked up behind her,

"How beautiful." the older women said.

"Yeah..." Nami responded, captivated.

In a matter of minutes, the thin layer of snow accumulated to a thick blanket. All of the crew except Luffy was wearing winter attire. Usopp was making snow angels with Chopper who had a grin on; one that was way too big for his small face. The little guy couldn't possibly hide the amount of happiness that was brewing inside; since leaving Drum Island, Chopper hadn't seen a single snowflake. But the prancing skeleton in the background was sharing the same delight on a whole different level. Along with the schoolgirl-like frolic, Brook gathered snow into his bony hands and tossed it up in the sky, mixing in with the naturally falling icy fragments.

"YOHOHOHO~!! This is absolutely magnificent! The last time I had seen snow was with my crew!"

A little smile played on Nami's lips.

'_As the newest member of the Straw Hat Pirates, he sure is doing well with fitting right in.'_

It's as if he, no, all of them had always been there. It's as if they were meant to be there like puzzle pieces that had been put together to make a picture.

Franky and Luffy were having a not-so-normal snowball fight, considering Franky was shooting the slushy precipitation out of his body like ammunition and Luffy was throwing it at the speed of a bullet.

As always, Zoro and Sanji were in the middle of a stupid argument.

"What'd you say, marimo?! That yours is better? NO WAY! My snowman surpasses yours by a landslide!"

"Yeah right! Do you see how _not_ round the middle part is?!"

"Well, have you noticed yours facing the other way?!"

"NO! The sun rises in this direction!"

"You shitty imbecile, that's the way it _sets_ in!"

"What'd you call me!?"

The insult resulted in a physical fight to start and this caused Nami to facepalm.

"Moh! Those idiots never change!"

Robin just giggled.

"Usopp, your snow angel is so awesome~!!" said the little reindeer as he swayed in awe.

"Thanks! Did you know, I the Great Captain Usopp, am a world famous snow angel artist?!"

"Wah~!? No way~! Usopp is amazing!"

"Naturally! So how'd your snow angel turn out, Chopper? "

They both turned to where Chopper had made his.

"Uhh….?" was the only word to come out of Usopp's mouth.

The imprint in the snow looked more like a rectangle on top of a circle than a divine being. Chopper went to the corner, a depressing aura surrounding him.

"Nami-san, look out!" Sanji shouted.

But before she could move, a snowball hit her square in the face. The person responsible looked at her, his eyes comically wide.

"…Luffy…" Nami quietly seethed, wiping the snow off her face.

Luffy gulped, seeing that Nami had an evil glare in her eye and a dark atmosphere around her.

"Robin, help me out a little."

The women nodded with a slightly mischievous smile, crossing her arms over each other. In seconds, hundreds of arms popped up all over the ship, each grabbing and forming snow into a sphere.

'_Ah crap...'_ were the last words on all the guys' minds before they were bombarded with a flurry of snow.

After a minute they all rose out of the mound on top them.

"You're on!" shouted Usopp though his legs were still shaking from the previous attack.

"Wait! Seven against two isn't fair! I will not let the ladies fight alone!!" Sanji said before the battle continued.

"We can't have even teams since there are nine of us." Chopper pointed out.

"Nico, do you wanna be referee? You are way too much of an advantage to whichever team you're on, and this way the teams will be even." Franky said.

"Ee." Robin responded.

She walked down the stairs to the deck and sat down on her chair after getting rid of the snow that was piled on it.

"Okay, so what are the teams?" Usopp asked.

Luffy answered, "It'll be me, Sanji, Nami, and Brook against Zoro, Franky, Chopper, and Usopp."

Nami looked a bit happy,

'_This way Sanji won't yell about being on the team that I'm on or fight with Zoro; nice job, Luffy!"_

"My codename shall be The Great Snow Sniper!" Usopp proclaimed looking almighty.

"OH~!! Can I have a codename too?" Chopper asked excitedly.

A loud grumble was heard and then Luffy whined, "Ahh…..I'm hungry~!!!"

The rest of the crew realized that they hadn't had breakfast yet.

Sanji walked over to Robin and held her hand and while kneeling he said, "I feel so awful for letting you starve, my beloved goddess~!!"

Of course Robin's face barely moved as she watched the chef apologize.

"Well then, we should head to the kitchen, right? " Franky said, raising an eyebrow.

Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were already halfway there when the others started to walk. Everybody sat down at the table as Sanji went over to the stove, grabbing a spatula and a few pans.

"Sorry that there's nothing ready yet." Sanji stated.

"Wow, the ship's cook forgot his job, eh?" Zoro said, mockingly.

"You bastard!" the blond yelled, about to kick the swordsman when Nami interrupted,

"Sanji-kun, please make me the best breakfast!" she cooed, fluttering her lashes.

Luffy stared at her for a second, noting her behavior.

"HAI, NAMI-SAN!" the chef said, spinning on his heel with hearts all around him.

Taking in mind that everyone just came in from an almost below zero temperature, Sanji decided that the menu would have warm meals. The dishes were Apple Skillet Pancakes, Omelets with summer vegetables, and a nice big casserole. Even though the quantity of the dishes was enormous because of the crew's appetite, Sanji finished cooking in less than thirty minutes; it was to be expected from a professional.

"Here you are my angels~!" he sang, twirling towards the two women with their plates.

"MESHI~!!" Luffy yelled, about to drool from hunger as he stretched his arm out for the delicious cuisine that Sanji had just placed more of on the table. Breakfast continued as usual with all the annoyed yelling and screaming.

"Oi Nami, you think we'll reach the island today? GAH!!" Usopp asked, dodging a fork.

"Hmm, I think so. Maybe by noon." she responded and then looked around the room while chewing.

**..:: Nami's POV ::..**

My eyes automatically gazed over to my captain, I mean; he's really not hard to miss now, is he? This counts a lot when he's at a dinner table full of food.

'_Hey, now that I think about it, Luffy wasn't wearing any warm clothing earlier, right? I wonder if he can actually feel the freezing weather. Maybe it's because he's just that slow? Nah, it's probably because he's rubber. Should I lend him some money so he can buy one?'_

My eyes widened in surprise of my train of thought.

'_Tch, NO! Why should I? He never paid me back for my jacket he practically obliterated during that fight with Wapol! I'm gonna buy myself one and a pair of gloves. Also a shirt or two won't empty my savings.'_

"I hope the next island will be fun!" Chopper exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"I'll be satisfied as it as long as it's not infested with marines." I said without any sarcasm. I meant it.

After breakfast had ended, everyone made it to somewhere inside the ship. I looked over at our cook who was already preparing to wash the dishes and make lunch. I asked Sanji to shovel the snow off the deck because it was starting to pile up really high. After that I left the kitchen and went outside to check if we were going the right way.

Then I saw it.

A massive glacier, dead ahead.

'_**Fuck.'**_

"ALL HANDS ON DECK, I REPEAT, ALL HANDS ON DECK!! GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE PEOPLE!! WE GOTTA STEER, AND FAST!! THERE'S A GLACIER UP AHEAD!!"

Almost immediately everyone came running out of the rooms.

"Usopp! Chopper! Franky! See if you can turn right using the wheel and if you can't turn on the Soldier Dock System to Channel Zero!"

The three speedily ran to the helm because every second counted in whether we'd make out of this alive and without any damage or casualties.

As I had expected the wheel didn't budge, most likely because the rudder was frozen, so they activated Channel Zero and paddles came out from the sides of the ship.

"Good! Zoro, Sanji and Robin, come over here!" after they had reached me and I instructed, "Robin, build a bridge with your powers! As for Sanji and Zoro, run across the bridge and destroy the glacier but make sure none of the pieces of ice fall in our path!"

As soon as they had heard my plan they got to work. Usopp, Franky and Chopper were still at the helm, steering.

"Go see if Sanji turned the stove off, Brook! I don't want a fire to erupt!"

The skeleton made his way to the kitchen and Luffy looked over to me, waiting for an order. He was finally starting to shake from the cold.

"Go wear a jacket Luffy! We can't afford having a crew member sick before we enter a new island."

He looked over to me with a blank face and responded while shivering, "I don't h-have one, n-Nami."

Ah, I thought so. Still he was gonna get sick if he stayed out here any longer.

"Then get inside a room and -WOAH!"

The ship suddenly jolted from the vibrations and waves caused by giant chunks of the glacier falling into to water.

'_Stupid Sanji and Zoro, couldn't they make the pieces smaller?!'_

The jolt had made me slide dangerously close to the railing; if another one fell I was a goner. Just then, another piece fell into the sea, causing the ship to rock violently. This made me hurdle off the ship.

Today couldn't get any better. Note the sarcasm.

I squeezed my eyes shut, unwillingly waiting for the freezing impact; but it never came. Right before my body hit the water, something tightly wrapped around my waist.

Wind quickly rushed past my ears and I was pulled back onto the ship, my feet touching the snow again.

Whatever had hoisted me up was holding me against a soft and warm object. The first thing a heard was a heartbeat. Wait….._heartbeat_?!

My eyes shot open and I saw red.

Looking up I realized this was Luffy.

Right after I looked up he shouted, "Everyone grab onto something so you don't fly off!"

I was suddenly embarrassed, wasn't_ I_ the bad example here?

"Oi Luffy, you can let go." I said, still feeling self-conscious. I'm supposed to be the smart one on this ship and I just did something really stupid.

He looked down and I saw a pink tint on his cheeks. I mentally shrugged.

'_It must be the cold.'_

Without responding he looked back up towards Sanji and Zoro who had come back from destroying the glacier. I also turned to look at them, about to yell because they caused the jolt. Sanji's face started to look _really_ pissed towards me and Luffy's general direction. Zoro formed an amused look on his face from the cook's displeasure.

I raised an eyebrow.

'_Why's he in such a bad mood?' _Then I noticed the position we were in.

Luffy was still holding me in a tight hug with one arm wrapped around my waist, the hand resting on my hip, and his other hand was on my head protectively, pulling me towards him. I had unknowingly embraced him back. Perhaps it was instinctive?

I let go realizing that this was probably giving everybody the wrong idea. Luffy did too, but a little hesitantly.

I broke the silence and said, "A-anyways, it looks like were a bit off course because of the turn so we need to go to the left, okay?"

Franky nodded and Usopp and Chopper came down the small flight of stairs, continuing to play with snow along with Luffy. Sanji went below the deck to find a shovel to remove the snow and Brook came out of the kitchen with a cup of tea, having accomplished his task. Robin went to our room, most likely to continue reading a book and I stayed outside to make sure we got back on course. Who knows where the hell Zoro went.

As I directed Franky to change the path our ship was headed in I sighed sadly at the thought that arose in the back of my head,

'_Guess I'll have to buy him that jacket now.'_

**..:: Sanji's POV ::..**

'Ugh, I finally find the damned shovel and it's broken!'

I am now heading over to Franky to see if he can fix it, which he can, of course. While walking through the hall with the banged up metal and split wood in hand I spotted his sky blue hair.

"There you are! Could you fix this, Franky?"

The cyborg turned to me. He was sitting in front of his desk which had some kind of blueprint on it.

"Sure, give 'it here." he responded, holding out a hand.

I handed him the broken tool as he rummaged through drawers and found a plank of wood, a saw, sandpaper, and a hammer.

Walking over to a thick metal counter, he used fire from his mouth to melt the flawed steel. Grabbing the hammer, Franky skillfully hit the burning redness until it formed its typical shape. After putting the new mold in water to cool, he picked up the piece of wood and sawed it into a thinner width and took hold of the sandpaper. With twisting wrist movements going the length of the wood, the rough friction of the sandpaper quickly turned the sharp edges round. Because Franky was sanding with great speed, the wood was smoking. I sweat dropped.

'_No one said I was in a rush.'_

Then Franky overlapped the newly created rod and digging piece and shot a nail from somewhere inside of his mouth into them; piercing the two together. He hammered down the nail completely and went to get a smaller piece of square wood with the same width to make the handle. Cutting out the common shape, he sanded the sides down until they matched the other piece of wood and connected them with another nail. Lastly he hammered the end down and handed me the finished product.

"Thanks Franky!" I said rushing out of there; I didn't want to keep my Nami-swan waiting.

'_It's been almost ten minutes since my beloved asked me! If only that shitty glacier hadn't came in our way. Oh yeah, why the hell was Luffy holding her?! The bastard, even_ **I**_ haven't had the chance to caress her heavenly body like that!'_

When I reached the upper deck, I started to immediately haul the snow off; throwing it over the railing and into the freezing sea. I noticed some areas were starting to harden into ice. As I made it to the middle I hit an oddly hard pile of the annoying white fluff that was continuously falling from the sky. Then I saw something sticking out of it.

Can snow grow algae?

'_What the fuck _is_ that?!' _I thought, confused.

Hesitating because of the strange fur, I took a few steps back. At that moment, I heard a loud sneeze from the mound. Some of the snow was shaken off and the thing inside was revealed.

It was shitty Marimo.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, aho-cook?" the bastard asked me.

"_ME_?! What the fuck are _YOU_ doing?" I asked, fuming from the insult.

"Meditating." he replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The idiot was sitting cross-legged without a shirt, in _snow_.

He got up and brushed the rest of the snow off. I noticed his fingers and nose were turning a purple-pink color.

"You're gonna die of hypothermia." I said happily.

"Aw~, would the sissy cook care?" Zoro said with a grin on his stupid face.

"LIKE HELL I WOULD, YOU SHIT HE-" but before I could complete my insult, something that was speeding by knocked me off my feet.

I tried to gain back my balance but instead I fell forwards taking Marimo down with me. I harshly hit my forehead on the side of his skull and blacked out for a minute; my body going limp. I'm guessing he did too, since my head met his cranium with such force.

Before I completely lost consciousness I thought,_ 'Hmm, it's quite dark.'_

Little by little, I came back to my senses due to Moss-head yelling my name piercingly into my ear while shaking me from my shoulders.

"OI AHO-COOK! WAKE UP!"

"Hn...Wad iz it?" I asked drowsily without opening my eyes.

"Hey! Get off me!"

"Wad d'you mean ged olf shu?"

"Look who you're laying on! And quit talking like that!"

Nothing he said made sense until I creaked open my lids and saw half of his face extremely close to mine.

"Wad happened?" I said trying to rub the pulsing and sore spot on my head. Take note that I said 'trying'. For some reason I couldn't move my limbs. Then I realized a few things. One, I was one top of Zoro, two, there was something weighing me down, and three, my tongue was stuck to something.

"I don't know! You just suddenly fell on top of me and we both blacked out! Now, GET OFF!"

"I'm twying, ma wimbs womp moof!" I said, attempting to explain.

"Why are you talking like that? Speak clearly!"

"I cand, ma tonguw iz shtuck to somfing!" I exclaimed in vain.

"Urgh, say it slowly." Marimo said, I could tell this was getting on his nerves.

"I"

"I"

"Cand"

"Canned?!"

"No shu ibiot! _Cand_!"

"Can't?"

"Ma tonguw"

"My tongue"

"Iz shtuck to somfing!"

"Is stuck to surfing?! What's that supposed to mean?"

"_Somfing!_"

"Oh! Something! What is it?"

"I dond no!"

"Try moving it around, maybe it'll come off."

I did that and heard the jingling of metal. Okay then, my tongue is frozen on a metal object. While trying to pull my tongue off, I suddenly felt something soft and warm.

"H-hey! What are you doing?!"

"Huh?"

I twisted my neck a little and peered down to see what I had licked.

Oh shit.

"WAD DA HELB?!" I screamed, well, tried to at least.

"YOUR TONGUE IS STUCK TO MY EARRING?!"

'_Crap, crap, crap! How the hell am I supposed to get it off?!'_

Alarmed, I quickly moved my arms out from the heavy weight and bent my elbows, trying to pull my tongue off by pushing against the deck. No avail.

"DAMB ITH!" I yelled after repeating the process and failing.

In hopelessness, I looked around and saw that at least a foot of snow had fallen since we blacked out. That explains the heavy thing on my back.

"Shit, how long have we been out?" Lawn Head asked, as if I'd know.

I looked down at my hands. _Crap,_ they were turning dark purple at the tips.

"WE'LL REEWY GED HAPOTERMEAH!!"

"What?!" Zoro screamed, but there was something wrong. My vision was getting blurry!

'_What an unlucky day…._' I thought as I started to lose my consciousness.

My eyelids felt heavy and I knew I was going to collapse, so with the rest of my strength I pushed against the deck with one hand. The skin of my tongue pulled on Zoro's earring, causing both me and him pain. I grabbed the back of his head, coaxing him to lean up too. Now, we were both sitting up.

"I THINK IT WENT OVER HERE!!" said a yell in the distance.

The thumping of two running footsteps ceased a few feet away from me and the idiot swordsman.

"WOAH! W-what are you guys doing?!" a flustered Usopp asked while blushing.

"OH……MY……WHAT THE HELL!! ARE GUYS, YOU KNOW…?!" My beloved Nami-swan asked, freaking out a bit.

Marimo and my eyes met, and then we both realized what the other two were thinking. Along with the fact that it looked like I was licking Moss-head here, the position of our bodies wasn't really helping. Both my legs were on either side of his waist, our eyes were hooded (from the lack of energy), the two of us looked like we were blushing (it was because of the cold), the idiot's shirt was off, _and _my hand was still behind Zoro's head.

We both panicked, trying to explain what had actually happened and untwining our bodies while struggling to escape from underneath the snow. My explanation wasn't really understandable so Zoro told the whole story.

Nami and Usopp both replied with an "Oh~!"

"So where'd my car go?" Usopp asked.

"Wad cah?" "What car?" me and three swords responded.

"Ah! There it is!" Usopp answered his own question and ran towards a yellow remote-controlled racecar behind us.

"Thad musd ve wad mad me fuahl!" I said, in realization.

"So that's the reason curly-brow here is stuck to me!"

Then I heard an evil laugh escape Nami-swan's gracious lips and my attention went back to her.

"Kufufufu, let's say me and Usopp here _didn't_ hear that explanation, you two wouldn't want the rest of the crew to know about what it looked like you were doing, _right~_?"

It seems that the guy my tongue was attached to knew where this conversation was headed, judging from his growl. I knew too, but it's not like anyone could understand my protests.

"If you both give me 50,000 beli, no one will ever find out." My angel said with a smile.

"Like anyone would even believe that crap anyway!" Marimo spat.

"Hey Usopp?" the goddess asked with a smirk.

"Hm?"

"You don't like getting pushed around by these two, _right_?"

"Of course not!"

"And your toy car's the reason for their situation, _right_?"

Usopp gulped and responded, "Y-yeah."

"Then how about you become a witness to this scene? If they bully you, you can tell me and I'll raise the price! They probably want to pound on you right now."

"Ohohoho~! This sounds like the start of a beautiful blackmail alliance!" Usopp stated, rubbing his hands together in a malevolent manner with a grin on his face which quickly turned into a look of dread as soon as he saw Marimo's extreme 'I'm-going-to-kill-you' glare.

"Ahn, ahn, ah Zoro." Nami-swan said, wiggling her finger, "That's a 'no-no', you already owe me enough, do you seriously want more?"

"…..Go to hell, witch." the green bastard said, giving up.

"Thanks! I'll see ya there!" she responded, sticking her tongue out and leaving with Usopp.

Seconds later, moss-head sighed and got up, viciously yanking my hair so that I would too.

"OWAH! WAD DA HELB, SHIDDY ZOLO!!"

"Come on, let's go find Chopper." He said in a pissed off 'I'm-not-taking-anymore-of-this-shit' tone, dragging me along since I unfortunately could barely walk.

Damned shitty freezing weather.

* * *

So, do you guys like it? *shot* Hmm, guess not. Anyways, told ya it wasn't hardcore yaoi. It kinda of felt weird writing the suggestive parts though. And can any of ya speak tongue?? I actually stuck my tongue and said the words before typing them! LOL! I think I ended this chapter a bit abruptly. Poor, poor Sanji. He should watch what he says (HYPOTHERMIA WISH BACKFIRED!)Though he might not enjoy the cold, it gives joy to LuNa fans! Too much of his POV in this. _ Am I going out of character, people?! TELL ME PLEASE~!!!

YOU CAN COMMENCE THROWING ROCKS AT ME FOR BEING SO LATE **AFTER** YOU REVIEW!! *runs away screaming head off* XD


	4. Questions

I'M BACK! Chapter 4~! Huzzah~! Sorry….. ; A ; Lateness explained at the end.

The last chapter really did feel like filler, eh? Well it wasn't my intention but trust me, those two "positions" play a role in upcoming chapters! *grins*

Oh, this one might be a tad confusing! I apologize if I made any mistakes in the layout of Sunny in the previous chapters. I decided to look up a tour someone did of it on YouTube using one of the One Piece video games (so cool!), along with the help of Oda sensei's map, I now fully understand where each room is. Also, I finally understand how huge Sunny would be in real life. O_O In the end it was a great help! ^_^

OOC-ness on Luffy's part. We all know he can't draw for his life. XD

Pairings: LuffyxNami UsoppxKaya

Inspiration: An EdxWinry deviation I saw on , along with personal feelings.

Disclaimer: I don't have enough creativity to create One Piece, unlike the legendary Eiichiro Oda-sensei!

* * *

_**RECAP:**_

"…_..Go to hell, witch." the green bastard said, giving up._

"_Thanks! I'll see ya there!" she responded, sticking her tongue out and leaving with Usopp._

_Seconds later, moss-head sighed and got up, viciously yanking my hair so that I would too._

"_OWAH! WAD DA HELB, SHIDDY ZOLO!"_

"_Come on, let's go find Chopper." He said in a pissed off 'I'm-not-taking-anymore-of-this-shit' tone, dragging me along since I unfortunately could barely walk._

_Damned shitty freezing weather._

**..:: Luffy's POV ::..**

"Nwuwahuwwahn~!" I whined for about the hundredth time in the last hour.

I'm _really _bored. There's nothing fun left to do. Before Nami told us to go inside because the snow was piling up, me, Usopp, and Chopper were having a snowball fight. Usopp slipped on some ice and is now in the sick bay along with Sanji, though I have no idea why Sanji's there. Chopper's busy treating them. Zoro's wrestling with the arctic shark in the aquarium we caught a few days ago, said he needed some training. Franky and Brook are filling up the Sunny with cola in case the people on the next island aren't so "friendly", even though I told them I'd kick their asses. Robin's probably reading one of those thick books she has filled with mystery words. And Nami, hmm, I actually don't know what she's doing.

I got down from my hammock and walked over to the circle window thingy, I think their called portholes or something like that. Anyways, I looked outside and saw that Franky was shoveling the snow; well more like he was melting the snow with his awesome Fresh Fire move. It looks like a flamethrower! So cool!

'_I wonder if he'll make me one!' _ I thought as I quickly ran out the door to go ask.

"UWAH!" I screamed as I slid on the wet grass; my body slamming into Franky's.

"OW~! What the hell!" Franky said, rubbing his butt 'cause he landed on it.

"Oh, it's you Strawhat! You all right?"

"Yeah." I replied while getting up.

The only problem was that it was hard to keep standing.

"Whoa, whoa, ah….eh…" I said, trying to keep my balance.

"AH!" Damn, I fell.

"It's so slippery! It feels like I'm on that stupid Noro-Noro beam guy's roller skates again!"

"It's probably your sandals, Strawhat." Franky said, pointing down at them.

"Should I take them off?-ACHOO!"

"If you do you'll catch a SUPER~ cold because of this weather."

"I'll crawl then."

Franky smirked a little and said, "Okay Strawhat, just get inside before ya get sick. Catch up with ya later!"

"Yeah, see ya-AH!" I slipped again but then remembered to crawl.

"That's right. Crawl, crawl, crawl, and crawl. Shishishi, I feel like a crab!"

I crawled to the stairs and used the railing, for the first time, so I wouldn't lose my balance. I was about to sneakily crawl into the kitchen, hopefully being able to get into the fridge since Sanji wasn't around, when I recalled why I was trying not to slip.

' _Wait! I can't believe I almost forgot why I came out in the first place!'_

"Franky, could you make me a flamethrower?"

"Sure, but I don't think Navigating Nee-chan would like that!"

"Well I'm her captain! Nami has to give her captain permission!"

Franky let out a laugh.

I decided to steal a piece of steak off the counter and made my way down the slide. I crawled across the deck until I reached the staircase and then I started to climb. One damned step at a time.

"Ah! This is taking too long!" I yelled, feeling annoyed at the fact that I had only climbed 3 steps in about two minutes.

"Oh wait!"

I stretched up to the railing and pulled myself to where the girl's room was. Now that was _way_ faster.

I quickly turned the knob after sneezing again.

'_Gotta ask Nami for permission, I hope she says okay.'_

I entered the Women's Quarters looking for Nami, but instead I saw Robin silently reading a book.

"Oh, hey Robin!" I greeted while looking around the room. I didn't see Nami anywhere.

Robin looked up from her book with a small smile.

"Hello, Captain-san. What brings you here?"

"Where's Nami? I need to ask her something!" I said hurriedly, I wanted a freakin' flame thrower as soon as possible!

"Navigator-san is in the library. I suggest that you do not disturb her greatly. She is making a map."

"Ah, thanks! Bye!"

I closed the door and stretched my arm across the deck and to the other side's railing and flew right to where the kitchen's door was.

"Man, stretching from one place to another is one hell of a time saver, ain't it?" Franky pointed out from below me.

"Shishishi! Sure is!"

I went inside the kitchen, this time taking a drumstick off the table and made my way up the ladder and hatch.

"Phew, I'm finally here!" I said walking towards the library door.

I grabbed the doorknob and-

**..:: Nami's POV::..**

I'm trying to make a map of the last island, but only if it were possible to do that. My key object to making a satisfactory map is in horrible shape. The precious drafting pen I used was made out of metal and the humid island we had visited made it rusty, so I can barely make it write anymore which sucks because it was my most _efficient _and _**expensive**_one.

"Tch! Seriously? Maybe karma really does exist. Well, I'm not blowing off a chance to blackmail those two idiots and I certainly don't regret tricking all those pirates into giving me their treasure!" I said, profusely trying to make the pen write.

I threw the useless pen against the wall and tossed away a paper scribbled with messy lines. An hour of trying and all I end up with is a crappy map and nothing to do. Figuring that huffing and getting angry at obsolete and inanimate objects wasn't going to get me anywhere; I stood up and walked towards the door.

Sighing once more before opening the door I said "Might as well see what the others are doing."

_**BAM!**_

"OW!" I screamed as my forehead bounced off of the thing in front of me.

'_Bounced….?'_

I looked up and yelled, "Dammit Luffy!"

He responded in a nasally voice, "Hey Nami."

Apparently I had walked right into his nose.

"Do ya mind not bothering me right now? I'm trying to work on a map!"

Luffy entered the room _(without permission, might I add) _and held up the crumpled piece of paper and said, "Are you talking about this thing?"

"Yeah, it's horrible, I know. My pen isn't working so I can't do much." I replied closing the door.

"Hmm, but you have all these other pens, why not use those?"

"Luffy, those are normal pens. They're not the ones I use for a final drawing of a map."

"Oh, can I use them?" Luffy said, looking interestedly at the writing implements.

"I guess but, what are you doing here anyways?" I asked.

"Well it's too boring to sit alone in a room and everyone else is busy…" he said with a frown.

"Even Zoro's busy? That guy's always sleeping!"

"Actually he's wrestling!" Luffy grinned.

"Are he and Sanji fighting again?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"No, he's wrestling the shark."

"_**WHAT?**_" I screamed.

"Said he needed some training."

"To _hell _with training! What am I gonna do if he gets himself killed?"

Luffy stared at me for a second looking a bit…._disappointed?_

"Zoro is too strong to die, Nami." Luffy said in disagreeing tone with his arms crossed.

"Well, he could drown!"

"Don't worry, Nami." He said with a small smile that looked like he was trying to comfort me.

"How am I suppose to get my blackmail beli from a dead person?"

"Oh~! Shishishi, so you're just worried because he didn't pay you the money he owes!"

'_Why the heck does he sound a bit relieved?'_

Feeling a bit embarrassed I said, "W-well also because he's our nakama!"

"Of course! But Zoro's probably winning anyways!"

"Ya, Zoro _is _probabl- and if he's not?"

'_I can't believe I almost got caught in that!_'

"Uh, shouldn't we go stop him since you're panicking so much?"

"Ah!" I said slapping my forehead, "Ya, come on, let's go."

I rushed to the door and opened it in a hurry.

Bad idea.

"Kyaaa! It's freezing!" I screamed and ran to go get my coat.

"Can I borrow a coat, Nami?"

"Well, you destroyed my other one."

"Please? You have so many! And that was such a long time ago!"

"_Fine_. Just don't rip it okay?" I replied while throwing him one.

He caught it and said, "Wha- this is pink!"

"Ya, so?"

"It's not manly enough for the man who will become the Pirate King!"

"Well the man whose gonna be Pirate King can just freeze his butt out there then! Now come on!"

I exited out the door while hearing Luffy stop his protests and put the pink fabric on, following right behind me.

_**At the Aquarium Bar**_

Me and Luffy finally got to the aquarium and guess what we see?

Zoro _literally_ wrestling a shark while Robin, Franky, Brook and Usopp sit there watching.

"ZORO GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!" I yelled.

Zoro shook his head and Robin answered, "They are in the final match."

"I'm betting on Zoro!" Usopp proclaimed.

My ears perked up and beli was the only thing I saw in my eyes.

"How much?" I grinned.

While I was busy dealing bets with Usopp, Franky and Luffy had started their own conversation.

"What's with the pink coat?"

"It's Nami's." Luffy said embarrassed, "It's totally _not_ manly."

" Ahaha! Ya, but at least its warm! So Luffy, did ya ask her yet?"

" Huh, ask what?" Luffy asked, confused.

"You know…the question?" Franky went on.

"Who was I supposed to ask, again?"

Franky starting to get frustrated and replied, "Err, you know, Nami? You were gonna ask her something important, right?"

Usopp and I turned around to see what they were talking about.

"I don't think it's the right time to ask Nami that question, Franky. She's a little upset about something."

"What do you think he was gonna ask you?" Usopp whispered to me.

"I have no idea." I whispered back, wondering why the hell we were whispering in the first place.

"But it's important right? She won't know what you feel if you don't say it!"

"I'm right here you know!" I said.

"Hold up!" Usopp interjected loudly.

Everyone turned to him as he continued, even Zoro, who then got socked in the face.

"Is Luffy proposing to Nami or something?"

"_WHAT?_" Franky and Brook shrieked in unison.

I was baffled and for some reason felt a blush form while Robin only had her eyes widen for a second. Zoro inhaled some water though.

" I know it sounds strange but think about it. The '_question_' that's '_important_' and it's '_not the right time_' and if he doesn't ask she won't know his '_feelings_'?" Usopp explained while making invisible quotation marks with his fingers.

"Or maybe he wants to date her?" Usopp added, his voice being drowned out by Luffy's words.

"I can't marry Nami yet!"

"_YET?" _ The two shrieked again, misunderstand Luffy's words; Zoro was now drowning and had to be helped by Robin.

"W-well I gotta wait till I'm Pirate King!" Luffy tried to clarify.

"So you _are_ marrying Nami-san." Brook assumingly confirmed.

The door slammed open and Sanji cried, "HOWD COULTH SHU NAHMI-SWBAWM~? (HOW COULD YOU NAMI-SWAN~?)"

"Oh, hey Sanji." Luffy calmly greeted.

'_Great, another idiot shows up._' I thought.

"AWND SHU! (AND YOU!)" Sanji yelled as he grabbed Luffy by the collar, "HOWF DUSH NAHMI-SWBAWM LIESH SHU? WHEMB ARH SHU GHETTINGHU MAWWIED? (HOW DOES NAMI-SWAN LIKE YOU? WHEN ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED?)"

Chopper came in screaming behind him, "WAIT SANJI! YOU'RE NOT HEALED YET!"

"I didn't understand a thing you said, Sanji." Luffy said, pushing the deranged cook with a swollen tongue away.

"What's all this marriage stuff about anyways, you guys?" Luffy asked; his voice being dubbed out by Sanji's incomprehensible shouting.

"How about asking Navigator-san's thought on this?" Robin suggested, now having assisted Zoro.

Everybody looked at me and I stated, "I'm pretty sure Luffy doesn't even like me that way."

"Well, you never know when it comes to Luffy." Usopp said.

"What's going on here guys?" Chopper asked in puzzlement.

"Luffy-san is going to marry Nami-san." Brook stated.

"Oh! Will they be having offspring then?" the reindeer asked innocently, "Doctrine didn't let me learn much about the subject of reproduction."

My cheeks were now burning up, Sanji's jaw hit the floor, Zoro inhaled some more water, Franky stared with his mouth open, Robin lightly did a face-palm and giggled, Brook stood there with a blank face, Luffy's cheeks also looked pink and Chopper just looked thoroughly confused.

"O-o-o- okay! THAT'S ENOUGH! Just stop this stupid conversation right now!" I had finally managed to say something.

"Do you guys have any idea what you're talking about? Me and that moron going out? Luffy proposing to me? No- me and Luffy being married? With children too? Have you all gone crazy? No way in hell would me and that idiot would _ever _be together!"

"Ouch." Usopp stated, looking over to Luffy with a look of sympathy.

"Nee-chan, how could you say something so h-heartless? W-what if Strawhat actually likes you?" Franky bawled in between tears, forgetting what Luffy's actual question was.

"Yeah right! Now someone go help Zoro." I said looking over at the idiot drowning, _again_.

Then I looked at Luffy and stared for a few seconds. He was standing there with a pained expression.

I suddenly felt really guilty.

"U-umm, let's all just go back to what we were doing." I said as I quickly broke eye contact with him.

I collected my belli from Usopp because Zoro lost and since Usopp was too scared of the shark, I asked Sanji to go rescue Zoro as the rest of the crew made their way out the door. I also followed them but looked back to see that Luffy was still standing there.

'_What if he actually does….!_'

"….Hey Luffy, umm, you can come with me and draw with those pens if you want to."I said after some hesitation.

At first he didn't respond so I got a bit worried.

"Hey Lu-"

"Sure!" he replied excitedly as he turned around.

'_Phew…he's okay._' I thought with relief.

'_But what was with that face before?_'

_**Back in the Library**_

"Can I have some paper?" Luffy asked seating himself on the bench near one of the windows.

"Ya, here you go." I said ripping out a piece of paper from my sketchbook.

"Huh, what's that book? Can I see it?" he questioned, reaching for it.

"It's just an old sketchbook, not much to see in it." I replied, handing it to him.

He flipped through the pages, practically gaping at every pencil stroke.

"W-wow Nami! These are awesome!"

"You really think so?" I said, flattered.

But then again, Luffy thinks everything is awesome.

"Ya! How did you learn to draw so well?"

"I, uh, didn't learn."

"But these are so good!"

"Well, it's not like their people."

"Huh? But there's this lady here." He said pointing to Bellemere-san.

"Ya, she's my mom." I almost whispered.

Luffy stopped talking and just stood there, listening to what I had to say.

"You see when I was kept in that room by Arlong there wasn't much to do and I wanted to go home so I drew what I remembered of it." I blabbered out really quickly.

Luffy looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed.

"You know, the tangerine orchard, me and Nojiko's room, a-and Bellemere-san." I explained as a lump started to form in my throat.

I looked back at my desk, not expecting what happened next.

Luffy took off his hat and while placing it on my head he pulled me into a hug.

"When your sister was gonna tell us about your past, I didn't listen. I went to take a walk."

'_So he saved me without even knowing why?_'

I hugged him back really tightly.

"I didn't care if you took our treasure or boat. I thought there had to be an important reason that you had done that, you know since you started looking sad and all. I just wanted to find you really quickly so we could go on adventures together again."

"Thanks Luffy, for saving me back then."

"Well, it's not like I wouldn't save you. You are my important friend and that Arlong bastard deserved a lot more of a beating than I gave him!" He said with a grin.

"But still," I said pulling away from the hug, "you got me worried, idiot." playfully punching his shoulder.

"Heh, you worry too much."

"C'mon, let's get back to drawing." I said getting out my colored pencils.

I put them down and grabbed two clipboards and sat down next to him on the bench.

"Here, lean on this." I said handing him a clipboard.

"Thanks! But what should I draw?"

"I don't know! You're the one who kept asking to use my pens!" I said, slightly annoyed.

"Oh! Can I draw you?"

"Umm, okay. But you better not make me ugly!"

"Shishishi, I won't 'cause you'll beat me up if I do! What are you drawing?" Luffy asked looking over at me already sketching.

"Ah, just some nice memories." I said with a smile.

"Alright, umm wait."

"Huh? What are you doing?"

"I need to fix something."

Luffy leaned over and lightly held my chin, surprising me.

"Umm, Luffy..?"

He coaxed me to turn my face to him; both of his hands on my cheeks.

'_What the hell?'_

I had started to blush a little. This was just _too_ awkward considering the conversation that happened in the Aquarium Bar!

"Could you smile for me?"

"O-okay." This was just getting weirder and weirder.

A second after I had smiled Luffy exclaimed, "Perfect! Stay like that!"

"EH? My necks gonna die if it stays like this!"

Ignoring me he started drawing.

'_Idiot. How am _**I**_ supposed to draw now?'_

It felt really weird to have Luffy glancing up at me every 3 seconds. Sometimes he would stare at me for awhile before going back to sketching. And a few times he looked outside the window, not sure why though. But it did seem like he was striving really hard to illustrate me well.

'_Hehe, he must be. His tongue is sticking out and he has his eyebrows furrowed, too.'_

I giggled slightly.

"Ah! Don't move Nami!"

"Well you look funny when you attempt to concentrate!" I said laughing.

"I'll have to start over if you keep moving!" He said in an annoyed tone.

"Hehe, sorry."

After that Luffy went on drawing for another two hours. I on the other hand was trying with every fiber of my being not to yell at him for taking so long.

'_Geez, how long have I been sitting here!_ _It feels like it's been hours!'_

"Luffy, my neck's about to break! Are you done yet?" I finally complained.

"Almost!" He said moving his hand more quickly, now grabbing a red colored pencil.

"It better be good!"

"Well, I think it's good!" He said finally showing me the finished drawing.

"WOAH! This is amazing, Luffy!" I said completely astonished.

Sure I had thought it might be better than his usual, ahem, crappy drawings but this was great! It was a headshot of me standing next to my mini orchard, holding an orange up next to my face with a smile.

"Glad ya like it!"

"Huh, why am I wearing your strawhat here?"

"You're wearing it right now too."

"What? How'd that-"

'_Oh yeah, It was during that hug that he put it on me!'_

"Wow, I can't believe I didn't notice! Here, you probably want itback." I said reaching for it.

"You can keep it on longer if ya want."

"Are you sure?" I said, pretty confused. He'd usually want it back immediately.

"It looks nice on you."

"Really?"

I looked down at the paper in my lap; it was almost like a mirror.

'_It does look nice!' _I thought happily.

"Okay then. I'll keep it on!" I said grinning.

"Aren't you gonna show me _your_ drawing, Nami?"

"What drawing? You don't seriously think I could draw anything while posing for you!"

"Hmph! No fair! I tried so hard and you didn't do anything!"

"Hehe, maybe another time?" I said feeling a bit bad; I mean he _did_ draw that really amazing portrait of me.

"What are you gonna do now?"

"I'm going to sketch the island again and hopefully I will be able to find a new drafting pen on the next island." I said as I sat down on the chair and scooted closer to my desk.

"Can I watch?" Luffy asked.

"Sure. But don't annoy me or I'll mess up."

"M'kay." He replied, taking a seat next to me on the floor.

I got out a new piece of paper, a pencil, and my ruler. There was a problem though.

"Shit! The ruler too?" I exclaimed looking down at the rusted metal.

"What's wrong, Nami?" Luffy said staring at my distressed face.

"The damn humidity of the last island got the best of my ruler!" I shouted pointed at the useless object.

"Oh. Let's take it to Franky."

"How the hell do you fix rusted metal?"

"I'm sure he could fix it."

Trying to calm down, I replied, "Well, _maybe_. But I think you're being too optimistic; though you always are."

"He could fix your pen too."

"I really doubt it, what could possibly fix rust?"

"You should trust people more." He said with a frown

"I guess it's worth a shot." I said, sighing.

"Alright!" Luffy said, jumping up and putting on my pink jacket, "Tch, I still don't' like this thing."

"Yeah, yeah. Just be glad I'm not charging you." I said smirking putting on my coat after grabbing the pen and ruler.

Luffy whined but followed right behind me.

_*At Franky's Workshop*_

We walked in and Franky exclaimed, "Hey! What are you guys doing here?" while quickly covering whatever he was working on with a big bed sheet.

Both I and Luffy looked at him weirdly.

"What underneath that?" Luffy questioned, pointing to the big hidden lump.

"T-this is just some junk. A-anyways, why are you two here?" He inquired back, obviously changing the topic.

"Uhuh, sure." I said sarcastically, "Well, we're here to see if you do something about these."

After I said that I showed him the ruler and the pen.

"Yup, cola'll fix this right up." Franky said nonchalantly as he took the pen from my hand.

"Are you serious, Franky?"

"Shishishi, told ya, Nami!"

"Of course! Cola is a SUPER~ rust remover. You're really lucky that the pen nib is chrome though. Cola can only remove rust from chrome." Franky said.

Then he went on to showing us as he got some cola on a rag and completely removed the rust from the nib.

"AWESOME~!" My idiot of a captain yelled.

"W-wow, that's great!" I exclaimed, in awe. Who knew cola could do that?

"What about the ruler, Franky?" Luffy asked.

"Oh, I'm not sure about that, Strawhat."

"Is it because it's made of metal?" I asked.

"Actually," Franky said bringing the ruler closer to his eye, "it's made out a mixture of chrome and other metals, so the rust will only come off of some areas."

I groaned and replied, "Okay, just get it off the areas you can."

"Well, at least your pen's fixed, Nami."

"Hm, yeah, it is." I said with a smile

All the while, Franky had grabbed the cola bottle again and poured some on a cleaner rag and started scrubbing the ruler.

"Here you go, Nee-chan." He said, handing me the ruler and wiping his brow.

"I guess I could work with this, maybe." I said, skeptically looking down at it; the rust was removed in patches from all over the ruler.

"Your just sketching now, right Nami? You can buy a new ruler on the next island."

"That's right! Oh, thanks Franky!" I said heading towards the exit.

"It was nothing!"

"Bye, Franky!"

With that, both of us went back to the Library.

_*At the Library*_

"Next time I buy a ruler, it won't be cheap." I said, hanging up my coat.

"Nami, can I have some money for a new jacket?" Luffy said, trying to squeeze out of mine since his frame is a bit bigger.

"You better not rip that! And _of course_ I'll give you the money." I replied, waiting for his reaction.

"Oh come on Nami, just a litt- _what?_ Really?" Luffy asked with a huge grin.

"Mhmm~ with 300% interest, of course!" I said, laughing.

" Hmph! I almost thought you'd be nice!"

"Yeah, yeah." I spoke, smiling and waving him off.

We were now sitting like we were before.

"So is the pen working?"

"Ah, yeah it is!" I said happily, glad I didn't need to waste more money as I successfully made it work on scrap paper.

"And how's the ruler?"

"It's actually a bit sharp, how hard did Franky rub the cloth on this thing?"

"Oh, well maybe he can make you a new one later!"

"Hmm, yeah! Well, I'll just use this for now; I think he's working on something important."

"No, it was junk." Luffy said with a blank stare.

"Right~." I replied awkwardly.

'_Complete trust, huh?' _I inwardly smiled.

"Well, I should get started on the sketch, lunch should be ready soon."

"Mmhmm." Luffy hummed, slightly drooling at the thought of food.

"So, do you still want to stay here?" I asked getting some materials ready.

"Yup."

"You'll have to stay quiet then and don't distract me, or I'll mess up!" I said, now having everything I needed.

"Hehe, I won't try to!"

I laughed a little and with that I started to sketch out the perimeter of the island. While working I started to wonder why Luffy wasn't getting bored of just kneeling there and watching me draw. Right now I was trying to use the ruler Franky fixed. Man, it felt like I was using a knife, too damn sharp.

A few minutes passed and Luffy was now peering over my shoulder, practically breathing down my neck. It was _definitely_ distracting me.

"Hey Luffy!" I exclaimed as I turned around, "Could yo- OUCH!"

The stupid ruler cut the palm of my hand.

"AH! What's wrong?" Luffy shouted as he sprang up from his kneeling position.

"I-it's nothing." I said turning away, trying to clench in a scream of pain.

But apparently Luffy caught a glance of my hand.

"Blood." He almost whispered.

Slowly his eyes widened in fear.

"BLOOD! CHOPPER HURRY! NAMI, SHE'S BLEEDING!" Luffy shouted in direction of the door.

"No, Luffy it's fine!" I said with a fake smile that others would usually believe.

"You're lying! How can you be okay with this?" He yelled angrily and held my hand to show me that blood was already starting to drip. "And you call me an idiot…" He mumbled at the end.

Seconds later, a panicked reindeer barged into the room with his tiny arms overflowing with medical supplies.

"I'M HERE!" Chopper cried out, huffing from lack of oxygen; most likely because he ran here.

Quickly, he waddled over to me with the pile of medical provisions.

"How did this happen?" He said analyzing the wound.

"W-well, this ruler-" Chopper cut me off as soon as I held it up.

"Is that rust? Oh no!" He started to rummage through the massive mound of therapeutic items.

Soon Chopper had found a few cotton balls and a bottle full of liquid and Sanji came barging in as well.

"NAMI-SWUN! WHAD HAPPEMED?"

He was about to run over to me but Chopper said to stay back, knowing he would do something that might cause more damage.

From a distance he apologized sang, "I'm sowwy my deab Nabi-swun, Chopper had be tied up sho I awwived a bit labe."

The reindeer explained, "I didn't want him to run off again and so I tied him up and ducked taped his mouth and said he could serve you and Robin more quickly if he restrained from talking."

"Wad causeb this? Wad it you Luffy? Did you do this to my lobley Nami-swum's hand?" Sanji asked.

"Calm down Sanji, I got distracte-"

"It's your fawlt light? I know it is!" He continued, unchanged by my words.

"Seriously Sanji! It's not hi-"

"Ya, it's my fault."

I looked up at Luffy, he was looking downwards, avoiding eye contact.

"You shibhead! I'll kick you into mincemeat, bastard!"

"Sanji! Wait you might hurt Nami more in the process!"

Right then Sanji halted and puffed on his cigarette to calm down.

"Okay I'm ready." Chopper said as he had now gathered ointment and some bandages. "I'm sorry Nami, this will sting a lot but I have to clean the gash so it doesn't get infected."

Chopper soaked a cotton ball with the liquid as I braced myself, but it was too much and I cringed as soon as the disinfectant made contact with my skin. Reflexively, I squeezed Luffy's hand in order to help me stand the pain.

"Sorry Nami!" Chopper exclaimed as he jumped back.

"Nami-swun, are youb okad?" Sanji asked.

"I'm fine. Go on, Chopper."

"I just need to dress the wound now." The overly panicked Chopper said, picking up the ointment and applying it to the gash.

"This helps stop the bleeding and will help it heal faster." He clarified as he unrolled the bandages.

Slowly he wrapped the cloth around my hand as I started to wonder how he did things that were seemingly impossible with hooves.

"Okay, all done. But I am still concerned about the corrosion that was on that ruler; I'll have to get vaccines ready for the whole crew so everybody will be out of danger from infections that can happen from future cuts."

"Thank you, Chopper. You're a great doctor!" I said cheerfully.

"I am not~ be quiet~!" He said with his little happy dance.

"So Sanji-kun, will lunch be ready soon?"

"Yes, my goddess. I will have it prepared in a half hour. Would you like a snack for the time being?"

"Ah! You healed Sanji! So my new medicine works!" Chopper said delightedly as he wrote something down in a notebook.

"Sure, something sweet please."

"Your wish is my command, for I am your slave bound with the powers of love."

With a few more love filled sentences Sanji left the room, but not before glaring at Luffy. Chopper followed him out with his giant mound of medical supplies (which I must say were really unnecessary).

"Hey Lu-"

"I'm going take a nap; you can finish the rest of your map, Nami." He quickly said and turned around.

Before I could protest he was already laying down on the cushioned chairs with his back towards me.

'_Guess it's no use talking to him right now. Maybe after lunch?'_ With that, I went back to sketching.

About ten minutes later I started hearing murmurs in his sleep. I quietly walked over to him to see what was wrong. I looked at him and it seemed like he was sleep talking while have a nightmare.

"Blood…Ace….m-my fault…Ace" Luffy kept tossing and turning in his sleep.

My eyes widened, '_So he still has nightmares about Ace?'_

"…..blood….no …no….it's my fault…mine…Nami…..hurt …blood….Ace….my fault…."

'_He's connecting what happened to me with Ace's death. Shit! I gotta wake him up!'_

"Luffy! Hey Luffy!" I shook him a bit with my good hand. "Wake up! It's a nightmare!"

"AH!" He woke up with a jump and breathed heavily while he looked around, a few drops of sweat visible on his face.

"It's alright Luffy, just a nightmare."

"Oh." He said fixing himself so he was now sitting up, still breathing a bit heavily.

Right then there was a knock on the door as Sanji entered with a drink.

"Nami-swan~ please taste this drink with your divine lips, my- Luffy! Get the hell away from Nami-san!"

"Hey Sanji! Sto-"

Just then Luffy got up and sat at the opposite end of the room.

"Stop doing that Sanji!" I said, punching him in the head.

"B-but Nami-swan, he-"

"Thank you for the drink, please call me when lunch is ready."

I turned away from him and proceeded to sit at my desk."

"As you wish, my beautiful goddess." Sanji proclaimed as left the library.

I sat down and took a sip from the glass, and as expected it was scrumptious!

"Wow, this is so delicious! Luffy you wanna sip?" I looked over at him and he was looking at his feet, his hat covering his face.

I walked over and sat next to him and said, "It wasn't your fault."

"Ya, it was. If I hadn't annoyed you, you wouldn't have that cut on your hand!"

"Who said you were annoying me? I like company just as much as the next person in this insane crew! And anyways, the ruler was too sharp in the first place and I was bound to get cut by it at some point!"

"I'll ask Franky to make you a new one, alright? So you better not go on and try to use that one again!"

"Hehe, alright, only if you cheer up and taste this!" I said, handing him the glass.

As soon as it met his taste buds he shouted, "Whoa! This is great! Does Sanji always give you and Robin these kinds of things?"

"Yup!" I said gloatingly.

"Hmph! No fair! Could you share again next time?"

"Maybe, if you give me some belli." I said taking back the glass.

"Stingy~." He whined as he stuck his tongue out.

'_It felt weird to share the glass but at least he looks happier!'_

"So Luffy, what was Franky asking you about in the Aquarium?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure but I feel like I know it…."

A minute passed as Luffy though about the question.

"Oh! Nami, can I ask Franky to build me a flame thrower?"

I tried to absorb the level of stupidity of his question between two blinks.

"HELL NO!" I yelled.

"Aw~." He complained.

After that we both just relaxed looking at the snow falling down when we heard Sanji call from the deck that lunch would be ready shortly.

"Guess we should go soon."

"Hey Nami?"

"Hm." I hummed as I got up.

"Thanks for cheering me up."

"Anytime! Now, let's go." I said with a smirk as a put on my jacket and headed to the door.

I laughed when I heard Luffy grumble about how unmanly the pink jacket was as he squeezed it on and followed behind me whilst walking out the door.

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed as I fell butt first on ice.

Luffy hadn't fallen too because he held onto the door. Thankfully, he guided me to an upright position with his arm around my waist.

"Now which idiot's responsible for this mess?" I shouted, my hand violently gesturing to the layer of ice that covered the _whole _deck.

"Umm, probably Franky. He melted all the snow away with his Fresh Fire move." Luffy said, trying his best not to run away from my flaming aura of fury.

I tried controlling my anger by exhaling, "Franky is meeting Chopper today, in _critical care_."

Luffy shivered behind me and said, "Calm d-down. L-let's just go to the kitchen, N-Nami…"

"Yah, I would _love_ to but how are we getting their?" I said with slight sarcasm, hinting that if we even moved an inch we'd slip and end up on our asses.

"No problem!" Luffy responded, already stretching his arm to the balcony two floors below us.

"Guess it's the only- WAAAAAAY~!" I partially yelled as we both were speedily whiplashed to the first floor.

"Shishishi, see? We're here!" He laughed out while I was still in shock.

"Tell me before you do something like that!" I screamed.

"It's all good now, Nami."

"Well, what about the others? How will they get here?" I questioned.

"They'll make it somehow." He said, shrugging it off.

"I think you should go get them, no one else can stretch like you, Luffy."

"Eh~ I'll miss lunch!"He complained.

"It's alright. I'll ask Sanji to feed you first, okay? Now go!" I said with a smile.

"Really?YAHOO~!" Luffy yelled, stretching from there to the other rooms in search of the rest of the crew.

"Pfft! Idiot." I said, grinning as I walked into the kitchen, hiding my bad hand behind my back.

I was greeted with a dining table lavished with decadent food and a certain blond cook who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Ah! There you are my lovely Nami-san; I will have your plate ready before your exquisite eyelids can blink."

"Thanks, but could you give me two plates, one a lot fuller than the other." I asked while sitting down, keeping my left hand below the table.

Sanji looked at me strangely for a second and then replied, "Of course, Nami-san."

"I feel really hungry after working on my map."I said, trying to make sense of my earlier request.

"Then I shall have your plates ready even quicker than before!" Sanji yelled in his love-love state, darting at lightning fast speed.

A minute later the door burst open and most of the crew, except for Robin and Luffy, fell to the floor. Angry and annoyed, the pirates yelled at Luffy for forcing them into the small doorway all at once. As always, the mature Robin just giggled as she was overly amused by their behavior.

"Alright guys! Let's just have some lunch!" Luffy said, jumping over them and quickly sitting at his seat.

I swiftly began my play as soon as Sanji rested the two plates in front of me.

"Wow, now that I think about it, I'm not that hungry anymore." I said as I feigned surprise.

"Here Luffy, you can have this." I said before he started to grab food from everywhere else.

"Thanks, Nami!"

Some of the crew looked at me weirdly while others whispered, "Perhaps it's an apology?"

"Nami-san, is my food not pleasurable to your taste buds?" Sanji grieved with a flood of tears pouring out of his eyes.

"I-it's not that!" I nervously comforted him, "I'm just not that hungry!"

"Alright…whatever your heart wishes, Nami-san."

"What an idiot!" Zoro remarked with a chuckle, and the two morons continued their daily brawls of insults, kicks, and swords.

And thus, "peace" and "normality" was returned to the dining room.

Once we had all eaten, we preceded back to our normal activities. Thankfully, more snow had piled up so the ice was no longer a problem. I was now inside the crow's nest, looking through a spyglass at the horizon for any island.

A few minutes passed of searching until I _finally_ saw a mound above the sea.

I speedily rushed over to the loud speaker microphone and announced, "Hey guys, there an island coming up so get ready! Sanji make an inventory of all the items we need. Franky and Usopp, see if there are any repair items we need to buy. And as for the rest of you guys, be prepared in case we aren't wanted there, alright?"

I got down from the crow's nest and went to me and Robin's room to get some belli to buy things for myself, for food and to "share" with the rest of the crew.

**..:: Luffy's POV ::..**

I think it's about time I ask what's wrong with me so I've decided to go find Chopper. After looking around I spotted him in the sick bay, looking at his shelves of medicine.

"Hey Chopper."

"Hi Luffy, what's up?"

"I think I'm sick with something…"

"Oh no! Sit down and tell me what your symptoms are!"

'_Symptoms? What's that? Hmm, whatever, I probably shouldn't use Nami's name.'_

"Well whenever I'm around this thing my heart beats real fast and I have these weird nauseous feelings, like my stomach starts twisting and stuff. And if I'm away from that thing I feel like I need to go see if it's alright. What should I do?"

"This might be serious but if something's bad for you, you need to avoid it! Or you might get sicker!"

'_Avoid Nami? Is that possible?'_

I walked out of the sick bay feeling a bit down.

**..:: Normal POV ::..**

Unbeknownst to both reindeer and captain, an ear of a certain female crewmember had intentionally heard their conversation and said ear disappeared while leaving flower petals behind as the teenaged boy left the room.

* * *

So how was it? Anyways, I know this hiatus has pretty much destroyed my reputation here on but I'm sorry. I whole bunch of matters decided to blow up in my face and they're still not gone. I won't say what exactly because it'll draw unnecessary pity and stuff but if you would really like to know you can send me a message. I now go to high school! How awesome, right? I can also squeeze in time during my HW (if possible, I have all advanced or AP-prep classes) to write the next chapters. Because of this and to make updates quicker, the chapters will be _way _shorter and not 22 pages like this one! (It seriously is 22 pages long! O_O)


	5. Author's Note

I'm alive.

Hello everyone. Yup, alive. I don't even know how long it's been since I've been on this site as an author but here I am. My writing has improved a lot compared to when I first started this a few years ago. Maybe in middle school? Well I'm a junior in high school now haha! Expect these chapters to be re-written and the childish Japanese/English to be tossed out. I have been pretty harsh on Sanji in this fic from what I remember (I have yet to re-read it because I will probably cringe at how terrible it was) and the reason is that I wasn't too much of a fan of Sanji when I was younger. There are also loads of cliches I'd like to scrap out of this story too; but the hilarity will increase, no doubt. I hope you guys are still actively on this site, and I know I will have to work hard if I want any wonderful people to review and follow my fanfictions again.

Please love me again haha!

-StrawberryAura


End file.
